The present invention relates to an exterior pen and a supporting frame that can be used with animal shelters commonly known as xe2x80x9ccalf hutchesxe2x80x9d which permits adding a small pen for animal exercise without substantial modification to the calf hutch itself. The improvement includes a unique pail holder for holding pails for milk and feed for a calf, that will move with the pen and when the calf is to be contained in the hutch, the pails will be positioned inside the open door of the hutch.
In the prior art, various animal shelters have been advanced, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,925, which shows an animal shelter that has a pen enclosure on the exterior. The pen enclosure slides along guides along the side of the animal shelter, between an extended position where it provides an exercise area, and a closed position where the young animal or calf is contained within the shelter. This arrangement works well, and it has been found that retro fitting existing shelters with pens is desirable. Using a universal frame for holding the pen on a number of different types of houses is also desirable.
The present invention relates to a pen for use with small animal shelters, or calf hutches, that includes an exterior frame that can be mounted directly to the animal shelter, either with a specifically designed shelter or for a retro fit of an existing shelter, that provides a retainer support and sliding guide for a wire mesh three panel pen formed in a normal manner and of suitable size for providing an exercise area for a calf or other small animal.
The frame mounts over the animal shelter or house on the exterior, and it is secured to the housing walls. The frame has upright guides along the sides and top cross member that permit adjusting the width, and the frame can also be adjustable in height, if desired. The guides on each side of the shelter provide guide slots for the side panels or walls of the relatively rigid wire mesh pen. The retracted position of the pen positions an end pen panel to cover the open door of the animal shelter. When retracted, the sliding side walls of the pen are supported on suitable support stirrups mounted on each side at the rear of the hutch.
The end panel of the pen also can support a door panel, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,925, if desired, or as shown herein, a support for feed and milk pails are mounted on the mesh end wall of the wire mesh pen. The frame will provide for secure, readily usable supports whether the pen is extended or is retracted to keep the animal inside the shelter or house.
The pen is readily adapted to various types of animal shelters including ones which have a sloping front, merely by adjusting the supports for the pen accordingly.